Tout Wars 12-Team Mixed Draft Recap

The 2021 Tout Wars season kicked off this week with the 15-team Draft and Hold starting on Monday and then the NEW 12-team Mixed draft on Tuesday. The Draft and Hold is a slow draft, while the 12 team Mixed was live and rocking. I was fortunate enough to take part in the 12-team draft.  […]

MLB Spring Training Notebook (3/8) - Darvish Deals, Gallo Still Mashing

Welcome to the 2021 edition of RotoBaller's Spring Training Notebook. Thankfully, we have real, live baseball being played every day again, and while it doesn't count for anything, these exhibition games gives us the smallest glimmer into players and teams heading into the new season. We're officially through the first week of spring training games […]

Value Based Drafting Primer: WPC+

Learn how to take the next step in fantasy baseball draft strategy by creating custom values for your player rankings. Pierre Camus and Nicklaus Gaut explain how with examples from their TGFBI (The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational) drafts. Like and subscribe to the RotoBaller channel on Youtube to get all our latest podcasts and catch […]

Carlos Santana Homers, Drives In Three On Monday

Kansas City Royals first baseman Carlos Santana helped lead a strong offensive showing for his new team on Monday against the Oakland Athletics. Santana went 2-for-2 in the game and hit his first spring training home run, a two-run shot in the third inning off of Athletics starter Parker Dunshee. Santana also singled in a […]

Garrett Cooper Drives In Two Runs On Monday

Miami Marlins first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper had another productive day in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Cooper went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI. Both of Cooper's hits were singles, and he's now hitting .455 with a 1.273 OPS in Grapefruit League play. Cooper should start almost every day […]

Jose Martinez To Miss Four Months

New York Mets utility infielder/outfielder Jose Martinez suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee on Sunday during a defensive play at first base when he ran into an umpire. Martinez is scheduled to have surgery on his knee within the week and should miss up to four months. The injury came at a terrible […]

Max Muncy Continues Cold Spring

Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Max Muncy continued his cold start to spring training Sunday as he went 0-for-3 in a 4-3 loss to the Texas Rangers. Muncy is now just 1-for-9 in his first four games this spring. Muncy had mixed results in 2020 as he hit just .198 but also crushed 12 bombs across […]

Eric Hosmer Homers Sunday

San Diego Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer went 1-for-2 with a home run in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals. The blast marked Hosmer's first hit of the spring as he is now just 1-for-10 through his first four games. Hosmer missed a large chunk of September with a broken index finger, but […]

Evan White (1B, SEA) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 350 CURRENT ADP: ~375 overall ANALYSIS: White struggled last year. There's no way you can argue against that when he put up a triple-slash of .176/.252/.346 to go along with a 41.6% strikeout rate. However, his contact wasn't actually the issue. In fact, when you look under the hood, you see that White […]

Joey Votto Doubles On Sunday

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto went 2-for-3 with a double and a run in a 9-4 Cactus League loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. Votto is off to a nice start this spring, picking up four hits in nine at-bats with two runs and an RBI. The veteran first baseman has been […]

Lineup Takeaways - Week 1 Spring Training Lineups

Well, after a recent article highlighting the idea of what I was wanting to do with this Spring Training series, here is a first look at my Lineup Takeaway series I will be bringing you the rest of the 2021 season. We are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes - strictly about lineups and […]

Third Base Preview: Fantasy Baseball 2021 ADP Analysis

Host Anthony Aniano of RotoBaller discusses 2021 fantasy baseball third base rankings and 3B draft sleepers who can be sneaky later-round picks. He breaks down and compares the ADPs of five different MLB players at the third base position. Fantasy players should consider picking up these players for their drafts this MLB Season. Be sure to […]

Evan White Strong In Simulated Game

Seattle Mariners first baseman Evan White took part in a simulated game Sunday morning, hitting an RBI double to right-center field off of reliever Kendall Graveman and a line drive homer off of starter Marco Gonzales. White struggled mightily in 2020, striking out 41.6 percent of the time while recording a slash line of .176/.252/.346 […]

Paul Goldschmidt Batting Third In Spring Training Action Sunday

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is batting third for in a Spring Training game against the Astros on Sunday. Goldschmidt is off to a slow start this spring reaching base just once through seven plate-appearances. Goldschmidt is batting in front of newly acquired third baseman Nolan Arenado who should provide lineup protection for […]

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Feeling As Strong As He Did In 2018

Toronto Blue Jays first/third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said he feels as strong as he did before the 2018 season. Guerrero lost 42 pounds this offseason and is looking leaner ahead of the 2021 season after a down year at the plate in the shortened 2020 season. Despite the underwhelming stats, the 21-year-old still placed […]

Josh Bell (1B, WAS) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 125 CURRENT ADP: ~149 overall ANALYSIS: I was already higher than the consensus on Bell following his massively disappointing 2020. After all, this is a former top prospect still in his prime who happened to struggle during the short season. A Christmas Day trade to Washington seems heaven-sent for those […]

Dominic Smith Homers On Saturday

New York Mets outfielder/first baseman Dominic Smith went 1-for-3, including a two-run home run, in Grapefruit League action on Saturday against the Astros. Smith was the Mets designated hitter, who slotted into the lineup batting fifth. With no designated hitter in the NL for 2021, Smith should see the bulk of his playing time in […]

Kings of Candy: Sweet-Spot% Risers

While the 2020 season may not have given us much of a sample to evaluate outcomes (home runs, doubles, flyouts, etc.), the core events of exit velocity and launch angle stabilize more quickly and can be stickier than combination statistics like ISO or BB%. Two of our FSWA Writer-of-the-Year Finalists, Eric Samulski and Nicklaus Gaut, […]

Finding Over/Undervalued First Basemen Using Expected Draft Values

Welcome to the FSWA-nominated Expected Draft Values series, where we look at historical data to identify both overvalued and undervalued players of all types. Whether you're targeting power, speed, power+speed, batting average+power, and so on, we've got you covered. We'll start at first base and make our way around the diamond to begin the 2021 […]

DraftKings MLB DFS Cheat Sheet for Spring Training (Premium Content)

  MLB DFS Premium Cheatsheet All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Spring Training games are underway and we couldn't be more excited! We'll be putting out Premium MLB DFS Cheat Sheets for DraftKings throughout Spring Training, and our MLB DFS Lineup Optimizer is live for DraftKings as well. Hope you […]

Matt Olson Homers In Cactus League Action Friday

Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson went 1-for-2 with a home run and a strikeout in a Spring Training game against the Angels on Friday. It was a typical game for the lefty slugger who mashed 14 homers last year, but also batted .195 thanks to an uncharacteristic amount of strikeouts. Olson's K-rate spiked to […]

Using Sabermetrics for Fantasy Baseball: Pull%

We have previously determined that fantasy managers generally prefer batters to hit the ball into the air to have a chance at a home run. Yet, all fly balls are not equal for this purpose. A player can maximize his power production by pulling the ball in the air. One way to illustrate this is […]

Nick Mariano's 2021 Early-Round Overvalued List (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. Fantasy baseball drafts (and their articles) are almost all about finding the next superstar and unearthing talent late, but we can't forget that surrendering value by over-drafting can be just as crucial. In order to evaluate overvalued players here, we're going to utilize Average […]

KC Bubba's 2021 Best Ball Draft Targets (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. The fantasy baseball season is here! Best Ball leagues are for you for those fantasy players looking to get an edge on their 2021 leagues. Best Ball leagues have increased in popularity in recent years, and that is in large part of the early […]

KC Bubba's 2021 Best Ball Draft Avoids (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard. The fantasy baseball season is here! For those fantasy players looking to get an edge on their 2021 leagues, Best Ball formats are a great way to get a head start on the competition. By jumping in best ball leagues, fantasy players can get […]

DJ LeMahieu Reaches Three Times In Spring Training Action Friday

New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu went 2-for-2 with a walk in a Grapefruit League contest Friday against the Tigers. The reigning AL batting champ picked up right where he left off last season when he posted a career-high .421 on-base percentage. In two seasons with New York, LeMahieu has silenced all doubters who […]

2021 Dynasty Leagues: Top Trade Targets (Premium Content)

While redraft owners prepare for draft day, dynasty owners are scouring the trade market. The weeks preceding spring training are optimal to take a chance on young players who have yet to peak or may have question marks surrounding them. Not all buy-low scenarios will pan out as expected, but when playing the long game, […]

Freddie Freeman To Make Spring Debut Friday

Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman will make his 2021 spring training debut on Friday against the Twins. Freeman is slotted into the three-hole in the Braves lineup, a place he's quite familiar with, having batted 1002 career games at that spot. The 2020 National League MVP slashed .341/.462/.640 in the shortened season, clubbing 13 […]

Aaron Boone To Rejoin The Yankees This Weekend

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone will rejoin the team sometime this weekend after undergoing surgery to receive a pacemaker in his heart on Wednesday. Thankfully, Boone’s surgery reportedly went smoothly, and the skipper’s return to the team has been on schedule as he had been expected to miss only a few days. The biggest […]

Royals Value Patient Approach Of Carlos Santana

The Kansas City Royals brought in first baseman Carlos Santana this offseason to help give them a strong, veteran bat in their lineup. Royals manager Mike Matheny has spoken glowingly about Santana's plate presence, particularly his patience. Matheny says he wants his team to be known for their abilities to grind out at-bats and that […]